Letter: Reflecting on Armistice Day

To the community,

Veterans Day was once upon a time Armistice Day, which became Veterans Day in 1954. When World War II started for the United States, two of my Crawford uncles were in the Army at Hickam Field when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor. They survived the war. Another Crawford uncle was killed in the Battle of the Bulge. A Crawford cousin, a gunner on a B17, was killed in combat. My wife’s father joined the Seabees and was with the Marines when they island hopped across the Pacific.

Bill Crawford

So, on the recent Veterans Day, I wrote:

After

the eleventh month

the eleventh day

the eleventh hour,

we’re still producing

weapons and wars

and veterans galore,

dead or alive.

For armistice lost

we should mourn.

Bill Crawford, South Lake Tahoe